Brutal, frantic and suffocating. This was finals footy at its best as the two preeminent teams of the past decade played the game of the season to date.
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Four quarters was not enough to separate the two sides as Isaac Smith had a shot after the siren to send the Hawks through to the preliminary final.
Just for an instant Smith’s shot looked like it would lift Hawthorn to a historic victory – but a slightly tired kick from the speedy wingman faded to the right, giving the Cats a gutsy victory.
From the first bounce, players from either side weren’t allowed space to breathe in a tight and low-scoring first quarter.
Geelong’s defensive structure was exemplary early on, containing the dangerous Hawthorn forward line to a solitary goal in the opening term, despite eighteen inside 50 entries.
An increase in pressure and effort saw the Hawks flex their muscle in the second term as they quickly turned a 14-point deficit into a one goal lead.
A couple of simple missed shots on goal limited the Hawks’ lead at half time as they carried a seven-point advantage into the major break.
Hawthorn threatened to canter away with the match after some elite ball movement and individual brilliance from Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli extended the Hawks’ lead to three goals.
But after a poor first half, a lift from goalsneak Steve Motlop and efficiency from the centre bounces gave the Cats a 2-point lead before the fourth quarter.
In a final quarter for the ages, the lead changed numerous times with each team gaining the ascendancy for brief periods.
In the end a goal from Josh Caddy with two minutes remaining was enough for the Cats to hold on by the skin of their teeth.
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